Mob Sorcery 5 - Ch42

Waking up to a blanket of fluffy tails should be studied as a cure for just about everything, Vince decided the next morning. Ally snuggled up to him in the bed he’d borrowed in the condo. A set of floral rose-colored PJs clung to her body, but she’d only buttoned them up loosely.

Her tails lay across his body while she rested her head in the crook of his neck. He watched the rhythmic movement of her chest and stroked her tails.

“One day you’ll stroke my tails like that,” Daji whispered from above him.

He glanced up to see the nine-tailed fox sitting on the headboard. She wore a black and red kimono, similar to what Ally liked to wear around her apartment when puttering about. Except she’d left the sash out, allowing him to see the swell of her bare breasts. The edges of her areolas peeked out as the spirit slowly breathed, but her nipples remained hidden.

Vince inclined his head toward her and sent feelings of thanks, but didn’t feel like talking much with her at the moment. A quiet morning was preferable.

“Fine by me. Just be sure to visit the necromancer and the vampire,” Daji said. “We need to talk.”

Her serious tone forced him to make room on his schedule. Not that he had the slightest clue what he’d do today.

Ally stirred before long, and smiled up at him. Then she gasped.

“I need to check on Pola!” She shot to her feet and rushed out the door.

Vince grimaced and trailed her. Hopefully, he hadn’t done anything wrong by letting the fox sleep.

Pola lay on a bed, still asleep but visibly sweating. A cloth with a magic circle had been laid beneath her, and another glowed on the wall beside her. She only wore underwear, and Ally checked on the circles while her tails shimmered bright green.

When she spotted Vince, Ally smiled softly. “She’s fine. I’m keeping her asleep for a little longer, as it’s easier to modulate the magic like this than if she moves around. A hospital would keep her in bed with IV drips, devices strapped to her, and patches containing magic circles to accomplish the same thing. But I’m not sure how easily I can keep Pola in one place.”

“It’s fine,” he said. “She can sleep a little longer and then bounce off the walls later to make up for it.”

Ally giggled at the idea, then began wiping down Pola’s sweat. Vince tried to give her a hand, but she pushed him away.

“You should clean up,” she said, frowning. “I know there’ll be lots of work for you. Things will happen.”

“I’ll get some breakfast for you. Coffee or tea?” he asked.

She bit her lip, then looked at Pola. “Coffee. I don’t usually drink it, but a bigger dose of caffeine is for the best.”

He bent down and gave her a kiss. Ally blushed, but her tails rubbed against him.

“Thank you,” he said.

“Anything to help you and Pola. I care about her, too,” Ally said.

After a quick shower, he got dressed and stumbled into the kitchen. He’d dumped Nina in the glass box bedroom beside the windows, and it remained opaque, indicating she was fast asleep. The tall window beside her bedroom showed dawn rising across Aulfair, which was thankfully getting earlier and earlier as spring arrived.

He made two coffees while calling room service to order breakfast. While they offered a menu over the hotel intranet, he’d learned that the offerings didn’t change much and tended to be fancier than his preferences. The chefs catered to personal orders upon request. As Vince was Alessia’s guest, he didn’t even need to worry about paying.

After he dropped off Ally’s coffee, he returned to hear the door beep and click open. Despite the low likelihood of anyone breaking in, he still gripped his cane.

Kiho entered in a sundress and tights, her long red hair and tails flowing behind her. She nodded at Vince’s hand.

“A wise decision, but I recommend casting your barrier in advance,” she said while closing the door behind her. “Nobody who knows you will take offense, and you hardly need to worry about anyone else. Leave your politesse to encounters where it matters.”

He blinked. “I… don’t quite understand what you mean.”

“Don’t cast your barrier in situations or around people you know will take offence,” Kiho said. “Especially in public. But it’s different when you’re at home.”

“Gotcha.” He looked at the bag she carried. “Supplies?”

Kiho entered the kitchen and pulled out a square Tupperware container. A relatively small golden cake sat inside it. She also produced some cans of Japanese-branded iced coffee.

“Treats.” She smiled at Vince. “Ally will be tired and I can’t help her otherwise. My knowledge of healing magic starts and ends with treating wounds so they don’t worsen, and repairing the odd cut or scratch. Everything else is folklore at best.”

“Have you seen anything like last night?” he asked.

She ran a finger around the rim of a coffee can, and her tails lowered noticeably. “Yes, but not exactly. I knew Pola had been cut apart by a powerful spell. Some curses are difficult to heal, even for foxes and powerful spirits, and leave lifelong scars.”

A shuddering sigh left Vince and he leaned against the benchtop. Kiho rubbed his shoulder.

“You needn’t worry,” she said. “I said ‘scars.’ Whatever that demon did, he imbued magic into Pola’s body, but banished the curse while doing so. I trust Ally knows what she’s doing otherwise. She’ll gain experience to match her studies, especially spending time around you.”

“I can’t tell if you’re chiding me,” he said.

“I’m being realistic.” Kiho’s smile held sadness. “I met Kazuo after his worst battles, but I’ve experienced no small amount of loss. You and Ally are young, and being a warrior means steeling yourself against the worst.”

Vince didn’t feel like dwelling on death. Not after last night.

He changed the subject. “You’re a warrior, but Ally clearly isn’t. How is it her magic is so different from yours when the two of you…” he stumbled over his words, unsure how to voice the truth.

“Look more like twins than mother and daughter?” Kiho’s eyes twinkled with mischief and she poked Vince on the tip of the nose. “I don’t mind teasing you to bother Ally, but do recall that I am happily married, Vince.”

“Sorry. I didn’t mean—” he trailed off at the sight of her smirk. “You’re teasing me.”

She giggled. “It was too easy. You and Kazuo are both too serious about everything.”

He sighed.

Her tails bounced in joy as she fiddled with the coffee machine and began making herself a fresh coffee. “Ally’s magic reflects her life. Peaceful. I am a warrior born into a clan that devoted itself to defending lords and vanquishing monsters, because that was the role mystic foxes held within Knightsgate. Being spared poverty meant a life of duty, unless one was born into excess. And no fox was ever allowed such a life.”

“You make it sound intentional,” he said.

She gave him a sidelong look. “Of course it was. Idle hands are the devil’s plaything, and those with power didn’t want foxes and spirits to get the idea that they could do whatever they wished.”

Kiyoko’s comment about the tengu being actively repressed by the Emperor at one point came to mind. Refusing to yield to government authority meant coming under assault by Knightsgate, and accepting it meant endless duties.

“We taught Ally the basics of self-defense,” Kiho continued. “But her life shouldn’t require her to fight. Even with the violence in Aulfair, it’s different to the civil wars and conquests of my era, or even Kazuo’s. And if those come to pass again, as some fear, I would still prefer that she not fight. Not so long as I and Kazuo are still here and able to rectify the mistakes of those who failed us.” Her eyes hardened.

“Do you think that’s common among foxes?” Vince asked. He thought of Goro and the way both Toya and Hyuga acted.

Kiho caught his expression and frowned. “That’s a complicated question. Not everyone can step away from our duties and say it’s somebody else’s problem. Kazuo and I were both servants.”

“So were Toya and Saito,” he said.

“Ah, so this is about Goro.” She nodded. “I think it’s obvious that Toya doesn’t want Goro to take up the mantle of the clan. He’s left the young buck to play for the past few decades, likely in hopes another part of the clan would step up to take his place. But much like with Saito, the void remains unfilled.”

“Knightsgate killed too many powerful foxes.”

“Partly. I also think it’s that the younger generations of foxes were whisked away from lives of duty, which had begun to lose meaning in Japan, and are now free to do as they wish. Even after a few weeks here, it’s obvious that some of the clan guardians enjoy their ‘false lives’ more than their true work. Houou’s structure limits the power of the clan heads, protecting the investments of the clans, but it also makes their work thankless and unrewarding. Almost every clan head is a veteran holding the position out of a sense of duty.”

Vince frowned. “After so long around Alessia, I understand that feeling better now. But I feel some would have stepped down.”

Kiho smiled. “Have you considered that while Saito will regret the civil war that results from his leadership collapsing, he will happily step away and enjoy being a father for the first time in his life?”

“Saito Fujiwara is a father?” It was the first Vince had heard of it.

“He’s eight hundred years old, Vince. Of course he has children. This is his third wife, actually. Unfortunately, he’s suffered the misfortune of immortality and outlived most of his family.” Kiho stared out the windows with a distant expression, her smile missing. “Living through so many wars, and then the betrayal by Knightsgate left him with only a daughter. A six-tail, although I’ve never met her. I understand his new kits are growing up fast, though. But I sincerely doubt he’ll let any get close to this civil war.”

“I sure as hell wouldn’t,” Vince said, but it came out closer to a growl.

Kiho squeezed his arm. “Keep that spirit, and I won’t need to worry about Ally and my future grandchildren.”

“Grandchildren?” Ally squawked as she walked into the room.

She’d changed out of her PJs into a frilly lace shirt and matching skirt, but lacked any other adornment. Vince doubted the fox planned to go anywhere today. That told him a lot about how long Pola would be asleep.

Kiho pressed a hand to her cheek. “I’m already a retired old lady. Surely you can give me some grandkids to dote on.”

“I’m not even thirty, Mama,” Ally said, swinging her arms in protest. “You didn’t have me for centuries.”

“I’m not sure that’s on the table,” Vince said drily.

Ally blinked at him, then blushed. “Oh.”

Kiho giggled, then lifted the cake out of the box. “I don’t know if you’ve eaten already, but I made your favorite cheesecake.”

“Mama…” Ally grimaced as she leaned against the benchtop. “Breakfast is still coming. This must have taken you hours to make. When did you get up?”

“Don’t worry about that.” Kiho brushed aside Ally’s bangs. “I doubt you slept much last night, and I can nap later. Unlike you, I’m used to long periods without sleep.”

Ally puffed up her cheeks, but room service chose this moment to arrive. Vince answered the doorbell to find Lucia along with a wolfgirl wearing the hotel uniform and a serving cart.

Once the staff member dropped off the food on the small dining table, she vanished. Lucia had brought a couple of extra breakfast burritos, and frowned at the lack of Pola.

“She’s still asleep,” Ally said. “I need Pola to stay in one place for a little longer and I think that’s easiest if I keep her asleep. If Alessia wants to talk with her, I can wake her up—”

“No, it’s fine.” Lucia shook her head. “I’ll head in and see her myself, so I can let the boss know it’s fine. She trusts you. I bet she’ll be down later, once she handles the politics. Last night is all over the news. No close-up video for once, but this is the second time Vince has used his tornado. People are connecting the dots.”

He nodded, and the wolfgirl slipped out back.

When he and Ally sat down to their food, Kiho remained standing. After some chiding from her daughter, she joined them and took one of the breakfast burritos.

Vince stared at the sight. “Somehow, it looks wrong to see you holding a burrito.”

“I’m not a princess. I can eat a burrito,” Kiho said, half-glaring at him.

He’d ordered chicken and waffles for himself and gotten Ally the traditional Japanese breakfast set the chefs sometimes made for her. It consisted of a bunch of small plates of assorted items, including sushi, various pickled fruits and vegetables, clam miso soup, tiny omelets, a small grilled salmon fillet, and rice. Ally hummed as her chopsticks darted across the plates. At one point, she even held up some of the salmon for Kiho to eat.

“I take it you’ll be busy all today?” Vince asked Ally.

She nodded, then spoke between bites. “It won’t be that much work, but I need to monitor Pola for any changes. Whatever Quintus did to seal the wound has destabilized the magic inside her body. I suspect it’s a permanent change, but I don’t know enough to say for sure. If you didn’t need to keep it a secret, I’d suggest bringing in another doctor, but…” She bit her lip.

“I’ll mention that to Alessia if I catch her, but you should say it as well,” Vince said. “While an entire hospital is too public, even if she does have connections, she likely has a doctor who can help. I’m not sure how well sorcerers compare to mystic foxes, though.”

“Like with most magic, it’s a matter of power versus technique,” Kiho said. “The unicorn, Gabriela, has healing magic one step removed from a demigod, but it’s unrefined. Ally’s magic is powerful and she’s learning techniques honed over fifteen hundred years, but she lacks experience. Sorcerers can never reach those heights, save for rare exceptions, but their limitations lead them to develop inventions that transform the world. Hospitals run on them, for one.”

Ally nodded while smiling. “I’ve learned most of my healing from books. Human sorcerers have developed the most intricate understanding of how our bodies interact with magic, even if I need to rely on writings by foxes to actually use my healing magic.”

“You didn’t learn from a fox?” he asked.

Kiho grimaced. “There are several on the east coast, and Kazuo knows a couple through connections. But they arrived after he established the Yakuza’s presence and met me. True kitsune don’t associate with clanless foxes like me.”

Ally’s expression dimmed and she stared at her food. Kiho’s tails entangled with her daughter’s. Vince wished he sat beside Ally so he could comfort her as well. He rubbed his feet against her legs, causing her to giggle and smile at him.

Evidently Mei used the right words when she approached Ally, even if she’d lied about her true beliefs. Ally’s feelings of isolation from her own kind had been planted even before she encountered Houou.

Perhaps…

“You can finish your thought,” Daji chided him. “If the Inaba twins want you so badly, force them to make amends. The same goes for the Miuras. Houou can turn a new leaf by accepting Ally, but without forcing her to bend to their will.”

He nodded, and caught Kiho’s glance at the motion.

“Ally, have you spoken to Alessia since our last date?” he asked, changing the subject to something he thought would be related enough.

Something about Kiho’s expression bothered him.

Ally blinked, then made an “O” with her mouth. “I did. I just…” She hunched her shoulders and looked at Kiho.

Her mother sighed and ruffled Ally’s hair. “So that’s what you’ve been up to recently. Do you think I’m blind and didn’t notice you flitting off to things other than dates?”

“Sorry.” Ally’s cheeks reddened. “You’ve been helping me out with the store so much lately, and we’ve started getting some customers in.”

“A few a day isn’t exactly a roaring trade, even if I enjoy the chatter,” Kiho said.

“I get more customers than your Etsy store.”

Kiho narrowed her eyes at her daughter, who puffed out her cheeks.

“I take it you said yes to Alessia’s proposal then?” Vince asked.

Ally bit her lip and looked away from Kiho, then nodded. “I thought about it, and it made more sense. Coming out here and trying to make it on my own forced me to reckon with what my actual dream job was. In New York, I was insulated. Everything worked out because…” she trailed off with a glance at her mother.

“Because Kazuo gushed about you to all his friends, and they made excuses to buy from you, even when they didn’t need to,” Kiho said. “Don’t sell yourself short, however. You got your start through nepotism. That’s how the world works. Every self-made billionaire who started with a small loan from their wealthy parents merely pretends otherwise. What happened afterward is they came to you because you kept improving and made tools and infusions they wanted. Alessia Lionetti doesn’t want your help because you’re dating Vince. She wants it because you’re a highly capable enchanter.”

Ally nodded and her tails wrapped around Kiho’s. “I know, but thanks, Mama. Running the store is stressful, but catering to trends and worrying about profit margins isn’t what I enjoyed about it. Making custom orders, challenging myself with difficult tools, and seeing my customer’s eyes light up when I give them the best I can is.”

“Will you get that under Alessia?” Vince asked. “Isn’t it going to be a big workshop making lots of tools for her enforcers?”

“Yes, but also bespoke tools and foci,” Ally said. “She needs to be able to equip her capos for fights like last night. Give them and you equipment that can survive what powerful enforcers throw at them. This tower has vaults full of old tools that have run out of magic that gave the Lionettis the edge they needed against powerful opponents. Maybe I can’t replicate that immediately, but I want to try.”

Kiho bent down and pecked Ally on the cheek. Ally beamed.

“It seemed I worried over nothing,” Kiho said. “Kazuo will be pleased when you finally let him visit.”

Ally’s eyes widened. “Eh?”

“I’ll be heading back after this business with Mei is settled, but you didn’t think we wouldn’t visit you here, now that you’re settled in?” Kiho smirked. “Your father will want to meet Vince and Alessia.”

Vince paled. He suspected Alessia would as well once she heard the news. Kiho burst into laughter upon seeing his face.

After breakfast and a slice of Japanese souffle cheesecake, he left the foxes behind in the condo. It was well and truly morning, and he had things to take care of before the political aftermath of last night caught up to him.

One of those included checking up on Juliet. Lucia directed him to the vault. While he’d heard the girls talk of the Lionetti vault of goodies and magic, Vince had somehow never visited it.

Getting there worked like Alessia’s floor. He typed in the numeric code, and then spoke the verbal one. The elevator started moving immediately because he’d been given access permission ages ago. Otherwise, the guards on the floor would manually check if they should let him visit, or if they should lock down the elevator.

An innocuous lobby greeted him, also identical to Alessia’ floor. Nobody stood inside it. He remained in the elevator for a few seconds, worried something was wrong.

A hidden door opened in the wall, and an older male capo stepped out. Vince recognized him from after the heist.

“Come through,” the capo said, waving Vince toward the visible doors. “The vaults are highly secure, so we don’t sit around out here.”

Highly secure was an understatement. An airlock-style glass compartment with a security booth to the side controlled access to the rest of the floor. Undeployed security shutters stood at every junction, and Vince noticed the sprinklers had company that looked suspiciously like gas sprayers.

Every door on the floor remained shut, and the capo gave him directions to a specific vault door much further within. Vince walked past heavy steel security doors that shined with elvish runes and looked new enough that Zaira might have appreciated them if she saw them.

Eventually, he reached an open door. The vault door was over a foot thick, and visible cabling ran through conduits in the doorway, presumably to carry power to the enchantments and barriers protecting it.

A massive vault lay beyond, easily the size of a small apartment. Markings on the floor suggested heavy items had been kept here at some point. The only furniture inside it at present was a large surgical table, big enough to strap down a demon twelve feet tall. Half the table had been folded beneath it, yet it still appeared to be massive. A massive pillar rose from the ground, and the electrical work to install it appeared recent and a touch haphazard. The floor tiles around it remained bare. Wards thrummed in the air, pricking against Vince’s skin.

Juliet had been strapped to the table, the burlap sack still over her head. She remained immobile.

Hamelin stood on a stool next to her, poking her with tools from a rack attached to the table.

“Do you sleep?” Vince asked her.

“Only if I feel like it,” Hamelin answered without turning. She pushed a needle into Juliet’s skin, and black magic ran through it. “I fulfil my bodily functions to reduce the magical load of maintaining my corpse. Food is energy and sleep reduces my energy draw.”

“And alcohol?”

She turned and grinned at him. “What’s the point of sticking around if I couldn’t enjoy liquor, drugs, caffeine, and cigarettes? It’s more effort, but I made my body more human.”

“Is that why you regenerate, instead of Frankensteining yourself?” He circled Juliet, and noticed no marks on the vampire. Was she still healing even while affected by her binding weakness?

“Turning myself into a menagerie of parts is crude shit,” Hamelin said. “And I’d have to burn a ton of magic transforming the body parts if I didn’t want to look like a child’s failed art project anyway. Regeneration is cleaner, if slower. Also means I don’t turn into a bag of bones.” She pulled out the needle and frowned at it. “You here for something?”

“Yeah, but I’m curious what you want with Juliet.” Vince stopped opposite the door and Hamelin, hands in his jacket pockets. “Her reaction suggested you might be friends. Doesn’t this bother you?”

“Ah, this conversation.” Hamelin sighed and hopped up onto the table. She patted Juliet’s tits with one hand. “Friendship is a funny word. Means different things to different people. I’d call Juliet a friend, I guess, but I’m not attached to her. Life goes on. People change and move away, get new jobs, become obsessed with political figures that hate you.” She shrugged. “I learned a long time ago that all friendships are transactional. We got fucked up together, and I’ll find new people to get fucked up with. They’re probably in this tower.”

“… you’d let a friend end up like this?” Vince gestured at Juliet’s comatose state.

“Did you ignore every word I just said? Of-fucking-course you did.” She ran a hand through her white hair.

Hamelin looked almost normal now. He’d given her a second dose of blood since meeting her, and she’d regenerated almost entirely. She still lacked a bit of fat on her torso and arms, but he wondered if that was how she looked naturally. Her face turned out to be surprisingly beautiful.

Not that he thought for a second she looked like that normally. He’d heard her muttering about whether she should make her breasts bigger while glaring at Nina, Pola, and even Fia. Her undead body allowed Hamelin to change her appearance at will. She’d likely stolen her face from someone in the past. Probably a French model. He felt it best not to ask.

“You kept your distance from other enforcers according to Nina,” Vince said. “Why let Juliet get close?”

“Because I didn’t have a choice, and I don’t mind having friends. It’s just I don’t get weepy when she pisses off my new overlord and I’m not a fucking moron like her.” Hamelin held a finger-gun to Juliet’s bagged head and pulled the trigger. “I’m dead certain you’re one of those ‘through thick and thin’ types. You have a cop friend, for fuck’s sake, and enough women sucking your cock I’m amazed your balls aren’t shriveled prunes.”

“Succubi make stuff to prevent that, fortunately.”

Hamelin cackled. “At least you’re on the level. I think I’d go insane if I was stuck with you for decades and you were some boring-ass prude. Can’t imagine how those guys who live only for battle and endlessly grind away in time-bending chambers remain sane.”

“I think they’re fictional,” Vince said.

“Trust me, they’re less fictional than you think. The mother of the fox you’re banging was one of them in the past, I bet, but she’s learned the ways of Western excess. I met some insane churchy knights in Europe and they were scary. Lived on prayer, gruel, stale bread, training, and thoughts of killing heretics like me. They helped create the mini-dictatorships that dot Europe. It’s funny how accepting people who lust for war during a time of peace is a terrible idea, but I’ve already told you the average person is fucking stupid.”

Given Hamelin had to be talking about Europe in the 80s and 90s, he found himself agreeing. Also suspicious she was talking about Italy, which had only very recently begun to be less of an authoritarian shithole.

“You say you’re stuck with me.” He began to circle again, and Hamelin frowned at him as she tried to keep an eye on him. “Does that mean anything we have is just as transactional?”

“Uh, fucking obviously?” Hamelin scoffed. “You own me. I’m not going to betray you, and I’m sure our partnership will be a ton of fun. Fuck me, I’ve done and seen some crazy shit already. A demon showed off secret shit I can’t breathe a hint of, and I saw you pull off some insane crap.” Her eyes narrowed while she grinned. “But it’s the definition of transactional. We have a contract.”

“I don’t own you. We’re making a deal and trading with each other. The contract enforces that.”

She rolled her eyes. “Puh-lease. Contracts only defend the interests of the richest, most powerful bastard who signed it. That’s you, given you have two billionaire wolfgirls sucking your cock daily and goddamn Quintus Hierum backing you. If I betray you, you lobotomize me and turn me into your research puppet and occasional sex toy. You betray me, and I get fucking nothing. Every judge outside Delaware is corrupt as fuck, and we’re not in Delaware, last I checked.”

“… Delaware?” he asked. “No, don’t answer that. I don’t want to know.” He forestalled her rant with a raised palm. “So, no matter what, you think we’ll come down to this?” Vince pointed at Juliet.

Hamelin frowned at the vampire. She ran a finger along the sack, trying to trace Juliet’s jaw, but gave up after a few seconds.

“I don’t think we’re this stupid,” the mousegirl admitted. “You’re a sap. A dangerous one, sure, but I’ve seen enough to know you won’t fuck me over without a good reason. Which means I just have to not be an idiot. Twenty or thirty years ago, I’d probably land that lobotomy. But I’ve unlived and learned.”

He almost prodded her about the idea that might make it an actual long-term friendship, if they could maintain it. As much as he barely knew her, he disliked the idea that someone intrinsically refused to accept anyone close to them and discarded friends at the drop of a hat.

So he tried a different tact.

“Why not try to just let things happen and not overthink them?” he suggested. “Most people do that, you know? Not worry about the bigger picture or other bullshit.”

“And most people are fucking dumb as shit and endlessly lie to themselves and everyone around them,” Hamelin said with a sneer. “If the average person truly didn’t give a shit about the world, politics, and all the shit going down, then assholes like Davis couldn’t become President, populist politics would never work, we’d have world peace, poverty would be solved, and we’d be seriously talking about colonies on Mars. Funny how that’s not how the world works.”

“You really don’t like people, do you?” He crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow at Hamelin.

“I hate dipshits, and that means I hate most people.” She straddled Juliet’s body in order to stare at him directly. “I’ve learned the hard way that people wear masks that hide their true thoughts. Assholes who tell everyone they don’t care about what’s happening are just pick me girls in a different shade of pink. People act one way if they think there are consequences, but the internet and mob mentality reflect how small-minded, duplicitous, and hateful they really are. I’m at least honest about who I am and how much I hate the world. Being undead means I get to outlive everyone, too.”

“… so long as you don’t piss anyone off,” Vince said, unwilling to engage with the rest of her rant. He pointed at Juliet. “Like this Ceresviel that both you and Juliet know.”

A harsh intake of breath accompanied his statement as Hamelin hissed. He stared at her.

“Well?” he asked.

“… I won’t lie about her, but only if you tell me the truth about what that magic-eating bullshit you used during the fight was,” Hamelin said. Her dark eyes glittered with excitement, and she leaned forward, pressing her hands against Juliet’s chest. “I specialize in anti-magic, and whatever you put in your flames was intense. Do you think it’s connected to your core?”

Damn. Of course she’d notice during a fight. Especially with the tornado going nuts.

“It’s covered by the contract and you can’t tell anyone anything I tell you,” he warned her.

She rolled her eyes. “Even without the warning, I’m not spilling shit about you. I have a phylactery for a reason.”

“You told Juliet about my core.”

“Oh, I did, didn’t I? That was before we met.” She waved him off. “I didn’t tell anyone else. I don’t think she even understood what made you special, or else Ceresviel would have snapped you up by now. Trust me. Cross my undead womb and hope to get pregnant, I won’t tell anyone.”

He stared at her.

“What? You think I want kids? Jesus fucking Christ, no.” Hamelin made a face like he’d suggested committing war crimes to an ordinary person. “Anyway, Ceresviel supported me in Europe when I first arrived there. France granted me asylum to piss off the US, I barely got into a mage tower, and then got relentlessly bullied by rich assholes. I turned one into a zombie and got turfed out.”

“Wow. That was your punishment? Nothing more serious?” he asked.

“I killed him in a duel, not in his sleep. Being a shitty enough apprentice to lose that badly is considered a risk you accept.” She grinned, then sobered up. “Ceresviel found me before the asshole’s parents did, fortunately. I was inducted into her household, moved to her castle in Alsace, and spent years in a mage tower until I became an initiate, then a wizard.” Hamelin hesitated. “When Ceresviel moved to Aulfair, I came with. But she didn’t really need me here, so I just… floated about.”

“… she abandoned you?”

“I was a fleeting fascination for her, and I can’t complain. She gave me a future I lacked.” Hamelin shifted uncomfortably. “And she still cares for me, in her own weird way. I’m like her cat, I think.”

“What happens if she asks you for a favor that goes against me or the Lionettis?” Vince kept his expression neutral, but knew he was stepping into dangerous territory.

Hamelin laughed bitterly. “Ceresviel knows what my answer is. I owe her, but that’s not how the world works. I want to be powerful, like her, so that I can ignore the rules like her and all the immortal assholes in Aulfair, Europe, and beyond. Rules and conventions are just ways for them to stay out of each other’s way while they carve the world up. My future lies with you and whatever is inside you.”

“She’s smart,” Daji said. “I wasn’t sure about her, but rejuvenating her desiccated heart might be enjoyable. Or at least making her loyal for reasons beyond pure selfishness.”

Vince frowned. He wasn’t as convinced, but Hamelin spoke with a fierce fire about the world that reminded him of Ashley. Did all immortals go through a phase where they struggled with the ephemeral travails of mortal society and the intractable dominance of their immortal superiors?

“Fair,” he eventually said, and Hamelin relaxed. “As for the black flames… You know the soul egg?”

Hamelin nodded, but looked confused. “You used a fake to trick Mei.”

“Yes. The Inaba twins switched it out months in advance and gave the real one to me. I’m using Daji’s power. The black flames are her signature magic.”

Hamelin’s hair, tail, and ears slowly raised to the ceiling over the next several seconds. Her eyes transformed into dinner plates and she slammed her jaw into the ground. Daji broke out into peals of laughter in his head.

“But… but… I didn’t get any trace of possession from your blood,” she stammered out. She leaped off Juliet and glanced at the door. Her entire body shook. “Oh, fuck. Oh, fuck.”

“Um, everybody else already knows,” he said.

Hamelin froze. “Bullshit. The tengu would kill you.”

“She’s confirmed I’m not possessed, and is paying close attention,” Vince said.

“Oh. Ohhhh.” Hamelin ran a hand down her face. “I assumed she was the only girl not sucking your cock.”

“She’s not.”

“Sure, she’s not.” The mousegirl leaned against the table and eyed him. “So the reason your tornado cut off my magic and turned into an image of hell was because it’s divine. That’s less interesting. Just to check, Daji’s not the source of your immortal core, right?”

“No. Mei and Quintus have confirmed I had that before the twins gave me the egg.”

An explosive sigh escaped Hamelin. “Thank fuck. I’d fucking murder you if I found out you’d screwed me over like that. Okay, you’re still an amazing enigma. I dunno, maybe I can research the fox flames to help my undead, but it’s a low priority if it’s divine fox shit. I bottled some foxfire once and couldn’t make heads or tails of it.”

“Japanese foxfire and my black flames are quite different,” Daji said in a huff. “Their effects are similar, but they operate differently. Inari’s is closer to that of a deity’s, whereas mine is that of a native spirit.”

Vince shot annoyance at Daji, even if he was curious. She’d basically admitted to understanding what Quintus had revealed to him last night, about deities being the same.

“You heard what the demon said. It’s not a secret to be revealed lightly,” Daji chided. “You’re better off not knowing. Honestly, I’d give him a piece of my mind for even hinting about it to you. He dangled a bone before a dog. There is nothing to be gained from meddling with the divine. Forget about it and move on.”

That he was willing to accept. If these divine powers would destroy him for even approaching them, Vince could leave well enough alone. He had enough shit to deal with.

“So, do you need me to help with anything?” Hamelin asked. “I’m just collecting a few samples for my own benefit, and because Alessia wanted some information on Juliet while she was bound. Also, let me know if I can play with Juliet. Not sure if you have a thing against shoving dildos in her or anything.”

He stared at her. Hamelin scowled.

“That sounds like a no.” She sighed.

“I have a succubus friend who wants a piece of Juliet,” he said slowly. “If Salome is willing to let you be around, then we’ll see.”

“Salome… As in, the Immanuel VP that runs logistics down south?” Hamelin gawked at him. “How do you know her?”

“She’s a friend.”

“Yeah, and she’s an elder succubus surrounded by other elder succubi. Her club is hot shit.”

Maybe admitting Salome had taken his virginity was a bad play here. He was certain other succubi held the same rank or higher than Salome across Aulfair, though.

“I’ll, uh, wait to let her make the call then. Let me know when she turns up so I can watch.” Hamelin grinned, then left.

Vince watched her go, then cast aural wards over the vault. Once certain nobody was eavesdropping and the mousegirl wasn’t present, he turned to look at Juliet.

Daji sat atop the vampire, wearing an ivory cocktail dress and stockings he recognized as Anzu’s outfit from moving day.

“Finally. I thought she’d never leave,” she said. Her jade eyes locked on to Vince’s. “It’s time we talk about my body.”

- - - - -

Commentary: Daji body discussion soon.

Otherwise, lots of stuff being brought up while the characters be cute, like Kiho and Ally acting like family. That's a real rarity in my books.